Eggshells have three
layers: That thing that some people call the "skin" on the inside of an eggshell? It's real name is the mammillary layer and it's a thin protein membrane.

The brittle middle
layer, the testa, makes up the bulk of the shell and is made up of columns of calcite crystals held together by a
protein matrix (imagine tiny crayons or pencils stacked together with their tips pointing out around the egg) – the spaces between the
columns form pores. Moisture and gases
can go through these pores—so an eggshell is porous like cloth, not airtight
like plastic wrap. This middle layer
provides the form and structure to the eggshell.

Calcite is a form of
calcium carbonate – it’s the same stuff that’s in the shells of oysters and
other marine animals.

As an egg passes through
a hen’s oviduct, the inner mammilary layer is applied first, then the testa, and finally
the bloom is applied right before the egg is laid. The bloom is still wet when the egg emerges
from the hen.

It typically takes a
hen 25 hours to make an egg. 20 of those
hours are used for making the shell.

Calcite is white, thus eggs are white. Eggs that are not white contain pigments that
give them their characteristic color.

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Bonnie the Cream Legbar hen cautiously wanders the coop, bumping into other chickens as she goes. Bonnie has become functionally blind. Her left eye
is opaque and gray and her right eye has a tiny constricted pupil that never
changes. Her eyes worked just fine when she first
hatched, but I noticed that she had eye problems as long ago as early last
summer when her pupils became tiny constricted dots and she stopped going
outside. She knew her way around the
coop, but outdoors was just too chaotic for a blind chicken.

The pupil of one eye is a tiny constricted dot while the other eye is opaque. Result: Bonnie is functionally blind

The Hipster Hens are at it again! They’ve pulled out all the balloons and
confetti and are celebrating the 10,000th page view on Randy’s
Chicken Blog that just happened Sunday afternoon.
I started the blog and put up the very first post on March 1 of last
year, so we’re nearing the first anniversary of this endeavor. I’m sure the chickens will all want to party
again when March 1 rolls around, but what can I say?! They’re just party animals!

Since that first post, I’ve written 58 more – I’ve talked
about broody hens, baby chicks, sick hens, conflict in the coop, poultry
equipment, quite a bit about the cruelty of battery cages and efforts to get
rid of them, and I’ve branched out to talk about the woods around the coop and
the wild plants and animals that live there, I’ve discussed a few good books
about chickens, and I’ve talked about, well…life, the universe, and everything!

Along the way, I’ve seen a slow but encouragingly steady increase
in readership. Thanks to all of
you! Who are you? Well, thanks to the demographics info I get from Facebook and Google, I can tell you! Some of you are “fans” who have
“liked” the Facebook fan page – but many of you are casual readers. Most of my casual readers live in the US, but
a significant number of you are in France, and there are also quite a few of
you in Russia, Brazil, Canada, the UK, and Germany. Kudos to you international readers who have
used the “translate” button on the page to translate my posts into Spanish,
French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, and Danish.
Many of you US casual readers are clustered in the Twin Cities area, but
you are also in Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago
and well – all over!

And you Hipster Hen fans, I love every one of you, don’t you
know! Most of you are in the US
(Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, West Virginia, California,
Oregon, Florida, and yup – all over!)
Special words of appreciation to you international fans – Three of you are
in Australia, and one each are in Ireland, the Philippines, Serbia, Tanzania,
and Iraq. You know who you are! Thanks, mates! Go raibh maith agat! Salamat! Tak! Хвала! Shukrani! شكر
!

About three quarters of you are women 35 or older. I really appreciate your support. Tell all your male friends! Most folks who blog about chickens are
women. I’m not sure why that is, but I’m
not, btw, and more guys need to find out how cool chickens
are!

Topics of future conversation: I’m going to start building a
chick nursery inside of Coop 1 soon and will be getting ready for baby chicks
in June. I’ll also be putting together a
float for the local 4th of July parade – it will be pulled by my
trusty John Deere, driven by yours truly, and will be colorful, festive,
producing chicken themed music, and endowed with real live chickens! Beyond that, is there any topic in particular that you would like to hear about? Let me know!

Finally, I thought I’d end this post by highlighting the top
five posts to date. These are the posts
that have had the most page views up to this moment. Glad you liked them! Thanks for your support! Stay tuned for more!

Top Post: Poop (December 14, 2016).
Wow. Why did this take off? It’s basically some good practical
information on dealing with chicken manure – bedding options, using a poop tray
under the roost for easy collection, and some composting tips.

Second Place: Sweater Girls (November 1, 2016). So I found myself in the ridiculous situation
of trying to convince the Hipster Hens that it would be a good idea for them to
wear chicken sweaters. Pandemonium ensued.

Third Place: A Dog Story (November 14, 2016).
How my good friend, Bailey the
Labrador Retriever, came to be the Protector of the Hipster Hens here at the
ranch.

I discovered Gail Damerow’s “The Chicken Encyclopedia” back when
I first got the notion that I should get a few chickens. I decided I needed a few good informational resources
before plunging into this new project and I found this book on Amazon. It was a serendipitous find since I knew
nothing whatsoever about it when I ordered it.
As it turns out, this is a book that has never made it onto my bookshelf
because it’s in constant use.

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Whew! I think that pretty much covers it!

Disclosure Statement

Starting November 17, 2016, an advertising program Google Adsense began to run on my blog. Your clicks on the ads shown on the blog don’t cost you anything but may result in a small commission for Randy’s Chicken Blog. While Google has guaranteed that the ads placed on my site will be relevant, I don’t have a great deal of control over which ads are displayed. I’ll do my best to block any content that goes against my values or that I believe to be questionable.

On November 27, 2016, Randy’s Chicken Blog became a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. If you click on a sponsored Amazon link and make a purchase Randy’s Chicken Blog may receive a small commission. Again, this costs you nothing, but it allows me and the Hipster Hens a little pocket change.

Mission Statement

Hi! I’m Randy and this is my chicken blog. I write it, edit it, take the pictures, feed the chickens, hug the chickens, etc. I blog because a few years ago, I got these chickens…I had no idea when I got my first chickens that I would get attached to them and become this sentimental, crazy old chicken guy. I had no idea that each chicken would have its own personality, that chickens had such a huge range of vocalizations that they literally “talk” to each other, that they have this amazing, intricate social structure, or that there would be so much drama in the coop—love, conflict, friendship, sex, motherhood, anxiety—a virtual soap opera playing out before my eyes every day.

So I write these little vignettes about my birds that are mostly whimsical but also mostly true. In the process of telling my stories I also pass along a variety of views and opinions which are completely my own. Please also bear in mind that the information I share regarding my care of my chickens has come from my experience caring for my flock. I’m not a veterinarian and I have had no formal education in any kind of chickenology.

There are a few facts that I hope to get across to anybody who regularly reads my blog:

1.My chickens are really cool.

2.All chickens are really cool.

3.The majority of chickens being raised for meat or egg production, in spite of their inherent coolness, are treated cruelly. You can help make changes by your purchasing habits. Educate yourself! Read labels! Check company websites!